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Reliable Talent. What the what?
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<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7536511" data-attributes="member: 12731"><p>Ah, thanks, I get it now. </p><p></p><p>My point wasn't to punish the player / character.</p><p></p><p>My point was to retain some fun/exciting point of "potential divergence".</p><p></p><p>In my mind, the problem with "reliable talent" is exactly that: you're deprived of the excitement of rolling the d20.</p><p></p><p>Not rolling and taking 10 is certainly an option. But since the outcome is (by the standard rules) all but a given, this is also sometimes beige and boring. </p><p></p><p>(Only at DC 20, which is very uncommon in official supplements regardless of level - not to mention DC 25 which is outright rare - does "take 10" stand a chance of failure - and thereby forcing you to make the actual roll - and only in your "bad" skills. Making nine out of ten rolls just to find out whether the tenth is success or failure is sooo dull IMO)</p><p></p><p>So I thought: how can I add some spice here, without merely nerfing or removing the ability? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>My solution was to present the player with a choice: </p><p></p><p>Rolling 17 or 19 is sure to give you glory, right? But rolling a 10 is possibly not enough to reach the lofty heights of bragging rights, agreed? (In some cases it easily is. But the point is: it might not be) </p><p></p><p>So here's the deal: you can either "take 10" and be sure of not failing, at the expense of possibly not be allowed to brag about a stratospheric result. Or, you can roll, in which case a "1" means outright failure.</p><p></p><p>In essence, I'm baiting the player's vanity and hunger for the casino-like excitement of making die rolls <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />, in the hopes he or she will choose to roll, and thereby introducing a 5% risk of failure, restoring the "game" part of "roleplaying game"!</p><p></p><p>In the cases where the player doesn't see any particular upside about rolling great, and/or sees a definite downside of failure, the player simply chooses to take 10.</p><p></p><p>So, "punitive", not at all. </p><p></p><p>"Complicated", well... maybe. Not <em>very</em> complicated, mind you. I hope you agree - since all my suggestion boils down to is: "do you want to roll, 1 = fail; or do you take 10".</p><p></p><p>I mainly hope you will find my suggestion <strong>more fun</strong> than the beige reality of always succeeding, never failing. (Whether you actually roll or merely "take 10").</p><p></p><p>Regards <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 7536511, member: 12731"] Ah, thanks, I get it now. My point wasn't to punish the player / character. My point was to retain some fun/exciting point of "potential divergence". In my mind, the problem with "reliable talent" is exactly that: you're deprived of the excitement of rolling the d20. Not rolling and taking 10 is certainly an option. But since the outcome is (by the standard rules) all but a given, this is also sometimes beige and boring. (Only at DC 20, which is very uncommon in official supplements regardless of level - not to mention DC 25 which is outright rare - does "take 10" stand a chance of failure - and thereby forcing you to make the actual roll - and only in your "bad" skills. Making nine out of ten rolls just to find out whether the tenth is success or failure is sooo dull IMO) So I thought: how can I add some spice here, without merely nerfing or removing the ability? :) My solution was to present the player with a choice: Rolling 17 or 19 is sure to give you glory, right? But rolling a 10 is possibly not enough to reach the lofty heights of bragging rights, agreed? (In some cases it easily is. But the point is: it might not be) So here's the deal: you can either "take 10" and be sure of not failing, at the expense of possibly not be allowed to brag about a stratospheric result. Or, you can roll, in which case a "1" means outright failure. In essence, I'm baiting the player's vanity and hunger for the casino-like excitement of making die rolls :), in the hopes he or she will choose to roll, and thereby introducing a 5% risk of failure, restoring the "game" part of "roleplaying game"! In the cases where the player doesn't see any particular upside about rolling great, and/or sees a definite downside of failure, the player simply chooses to take 10. So, "punitive", not at all. "Complicated", well... maybe. Not [I]very[/I] complicated, mind you. I hope you agree - since all my suggestion boils down to is: "do you want to roll, 1 = fail; or do you take 10". I mainly hope you will find my suggestion [B]more fun[/B] than the beige reality of always succeeding, never failing. (Whether you actually roll or merely "take 10"). Regards :) [/QUOTE]
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